Tuxamy@aol.com
~~ This is Chapter 3 in the Guardian of Time and Her
Secrets.
Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, and all the
the other copyright stuff that's supposed to be here.
The Guardian of Time and Her Secrets
Chapter 3
by Fairychan
Sailor Pluto got up and checked the Time Gates. The
Garnet Orb had enough power to make a small barrier in
front of the Gates.
Still, she had to guard the gates. Pluto stood by the
Gates. The Time Gates were on Pluto, but it was in another dimension.
Pluto could still see everything that was going on on
her planet. At times like this, Charon was substituting
as the ruler of the planet.
She entered a little cottage right next to the Gates of
Time. It was almost like a little child's toy house, but
it was where she could go and rest for short periods of
time.
Pluto smiled as she remembered the many tea parties she
had with Small Lady in the little house. Small Lady tried
so hard to be polite and lady-like, but she was a little
clumsy like her mother used to be.
No one knew why she had to watch the Gates of Time. Not
even Endymion and Serenity knew. Serenity just gave the
orders, but she never knew the real reason why.
She was so tired...Sailor Pluto hated having to guard
these gates. But she had to be obedient and follow the
orders she was given.
Pluto lay down on a small cot next to the wall, and put
staff down on the floor. Her eyes were getting heavy, and
she couldn't keep them awake.
Her mind traveled back in time to the past, to the
happy and joyous time known as the Silver Millennium...
**FLASHBACK**
"Setsuna?"
"Yes, father?" She looked up from her soup.
The king of Pluto cleared his throat and looked at his
only daughter. "Setsuna, you are aware that many of the
princesses of Queen Serenity's court are getting married?"
"Yes, I am."
He smiled. "Well, Setsuna, dear, tonight we'll be
having dinner with Chronos, Lord of Time, and his son,
Prince Zodos."
"Really, father? Chronos himself?"
"Yes, he is coming."
"Why is his son coming? I thought Chronos and his son
hated each other."
King Pluto glared at Setsuna. "That's mere gossip,
Setsuna. You know better than to believe it."
The servants cleared the table. King Pluto asked for a
glass of wine, and a maid scurried away to fill his order.
"Zodos is coming because Chronos and I believe it would
be a good marriage, a good alliance between our families."
Setsuna's eyes widened. "You're arranging my marriage?"
"Of course I am! What else could I do? You can trust my
judgement, Setsuna. I only want what's best for you."
She opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it
and closed her mouth. No point in arguing with her father.
King Pluto sipped wine from a crystal goblet. "Setsuna,
Zodos is a nice young man, who will make a good king for
the planet of Pluto."
Setsuna said nothing.
In the evening, Setsuna was up in her room, gettting
ready for the dinner.
To be honest, she was not exactly excited to be
meeting Prince Zodos. She had heard some things about him
that disturbed her.
Like the fact that he often misused his father's power
over time to his own advantage. Chronos's control over
the flow of time was not something to be toyed with.
And that he hated his father, that he wanted to kill
his father so he could become the new Lord of Time with
Chronos's awesome power.
Setsuna was't sure if anything she'd heard was true,
but it was what Princess Uranus had said.
Setsuna sensed a small disturbance in the energy field,
and looked out the window. There was a small portal
opening, and a huge sphere of glowing yellow light came
out.
It lowered itself to the ground, and the light quickly
vansished.
In its place stood a regal old man with gray hair, whom
Setsuna identified as Chronos, because she could see the
staff he carried, the Time Staff.
And next to him was a man about her age, who had pale
blond hair and wore a navy blue uniform, with a cape
around his shoulders. She was guessing that was Zodos.
They both were greeted by a butler and escorted inside.
Then a maid knocked at her door.
"Princess Setsuna, you need to come downstairs now,
Lord Chronos and his son are here!"
Setsuna opened the door and walked down the spiraling
staircase. She could see hear her father laughing with
Chronos in the main parlor room.
"Right this way, Princess Setsuna," the maid showed her
the way.
Her father, Chronos, and Zodos were sitting facing the
fireplace, so their backs were to her. She walked up to
her father.
"Oh, Chronos, this is my daughter, Setsuna. She's 18
years old," King Pluto told his long-time friend.
Setsuna curtsied to Lord Chronos. "How are you tonight,
Lord Chronos?"
"What a sweet and polite girl. I'm just fine, thank
you."
Zodos was staring at her. She caught his eye and
blushed. He smiled at her.
"Zodos, this is Princess Setsuna. Do you remember
your manners?" Chronos scolded lightly.
The handsome young man stood up and took Setsuna's hand
and kissed it. "Hello, sweet princess."
Setsuna's face was getting warm and she knew she was
blushing. She slid her hand away from him.
The maid came in to tell them that dinner was ready.
Everyone got up and went to the dining room.
Zodos followed Setsuna to the huge room, and sat down
next to her.
Chronos and her father began talking about marriage for
the two. They were talking like Zodos and Setsuna weren't
even there!
They continued the talk about marriage all through the
meal, and barely ate anything. Her father was excited
about the idea of Setsuna marrying Zodos.
However, Setsuna was growing weary by the minute. It
was all stupid. Why was she forced to endure this evening?
There was no point.
And Zodos didn't help when he took her hand and held it.
By the end of dinner, it had been agreed. Setsuna,
princess of Pluto would marry Prince Zodos, heir to the
Chronos's power over time.
TO BE CONTINUED